(LEADERSHIP) CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?

Do you remember those far off, innocent days when the Labour Party was heading for the abyss, and all the talk was of Gordon Brown being replaced as leader, not if but when. As I remember from my journalist training, bad news sells and the imminent collapse of the American political system is deemed, probably correctly by Fleet Street, to be badder news than the fact that nobody likes Gordon Brown. Or rather, liked. He's popular again, according to the opinion polls, which are only slightly less volatile than the stock market, and make about as much sense.

It's tempting to blame the press, and there's certainly no shortage of doom and gloom, in fact it's boom time for the Doom and Gloom Merchants. That's the sector I'd move my collateral to if I had any.

But it's not just the press, it's us. We can't resist a bad story. Part of my work involves writing stories, and all these stories begin with something very bad happening.

Even though it's a topical blog, I'm trying to keep this discussion (with myself) on a slightly different track. Plenty of rent-a-pundits are looking at what it all means for Labour. This whole banks malarkey has certainly piddled on Davey Cameron's chips, overnight the swagger has gone as we view a man who knows his party is financed by public enemy number one. A party paid for by paedophiles and drug dealers would get better publicity at the moment. And to go back to my recent post about party funding, this whole crisis should play out in favour of a left leaning party that relies for its funding on small donations from millions of workers, rather than billions from Peter Mandelson's formerly filthy-rich friends.

But oif course it's too early to tell (apologies, cliche police, I'm writing this in a rush), and who knows, in ten minuites time there may perhaps be no banks left and this tiny little corner of the internet that is forever unread may become utterly irrelevant even to the person writing it.

Continue to not watch this space...